India's stern message to WTO: No TFA without solving food security issue

New Delhi: Deeply concerned over slow progress in finding a permanent solution to the food security issue, India in a stern message to WTO members said it would not be possible to agree on trade facilitation pact which is dear to the developed world.

“There is a growing disenchantment, anguish and anger in our domestic constituencies and a sense of deja vu as once again they see the interests of developing countries being subordinated to the might of the developed world,” India has said in its statement at a meeting of WTO members in Geneva.

[caption id=“attachment_87276” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Reuters[/caption]

With the developed countries attempting to sideline the Bali package on food security programmes of developing nations and issues of the least developed countries (LDCs), the whole matter may now result in Doha type of stalemate.

More from Economy

Inflation likely to be a big focus area for budget 2024, say sources Explained: Will the Bank of Japan break tradition and raise interest rates?

India has made it clear that it would not agree to the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) unless there is a “tangible and credible evidence of movement” on arriving at a permanent solution on safeguards to run food security programmes of developing nations without attracting any penalty and a package for LDCs.

India has stated that the pace of implementation of the Bali decisions has been heavily skewed in favour of trade facilitation and virtually all other decisions have been relegated to the background. “This is unacceptable”.

In the WTO’s Ministerial meeting in Bali in December last year, members have agreed to finalise on TFA and find a permanent solution to unhindered implementation of food security scheme so that these programmes do not attract any multilateral scrutiny.

“We are deeply concerned that the (Bali) ministerial decision on public stockholding for food security purposes is getting sidelined,” it has said.

A senior official in the Commerce Ministry said: “India will not be able to lend itself to the consensus on TF protocol unless there is a tangible, credible evidence of movement on other parts of the Bali package which includes primarily ours public stock holding and LDC issues”.

The TFA, which aims at simplifying customs procedure, increasing transparency and reducing transactions cost, is being pushed by the US and other developed world as they seek to bolster their sagging economies through an unhindered international trade by way of a uniform and easy procedures at customs.

“Till we have an assurance and visible outcomes which convince developing countries that members will engage in negotiations with commitment to finding a permanent solution on public stockholding and other Bali deliverables, especially those for the LDCs, India will find it difficult to join the consensus on the protocol of amendment (for TFA),” India has said in its statement.

India has always engaged constructively and actively on trade facilitation and is working on its commitments.

India, however, is “deeply disappointed and concerned at the completely uneven progress in the areas of work mandated by ministers in Bali”.

The Commerce Ministry official said the complete Bali package which was agreed in December last year should move forward. Countries like the US, EU and Mexico strongly opposes India’s stand and termed that negative. But nations including South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Cuba and Bolivia supported the country’s stand.

China and Brazil have not disclosed their stand. To conclude the TFA, the developed countries convened about 20-22 meetings on the matter whereas on discussing the food security issue only few meeting have been called, the official said.

“India will not compromise on protecting the interests of livelihood of farmers and its people. We can not give away our right to use tools like minimum support price to protect their interests. Still there is time till July 31, 2015. Developed countries can work on our issues,” the official added.

India has refused to ratify the TFA till its concerns are addressed on the food security programme. On the implementation of TFA in India, he said: “We are in the advance stage of consultations with different departments and we are working on our notifications. But the Bali decisions should be delivered as a complete package.”

India’s ambitious food security law aims at providing highly subsidised foodgrain to its 800 million poor people as also continuation of the support price for the farmers. Developed countries like the US and Canada had raised concerns over India’s food security plan saying that the stock piling of foodgrains under the programme may distort the global agricultural commodity prices.

Under the food security plan, the government procures foodgrains from farmers at minimum support price (MSP) and selling at cheap rates to poor people. There are apprehensions that once India implements its
food security plan completely, it may breach the 10 per cent subsidy cap under the WTO’s Agreement on Agriculture (AoA).

PTI